Welcome to the Top 40! September 2015
FEATURED@ #1
Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators Live At The
Roxy 9/25/14
By Joe Viglione
This terrific concert happened exactly a year ago, 9/25/14,
and it is a revelation. Opening
with “Ghost,” the splendid first cut
from Slash’s 2010 solo disc (with the Cult’s Ian Asbury on vocals for that
release,) here it unfolds like a hard rock version of Roxy Music’s classic
“Manifesto,” plodding as the intensity builds.
With Myles Kennedy on vocals, Frank Sidoris on guitar and vocals, Todd
kerns on bass/vocals and Slash the entire CD disc is brimming with energy. “Nightrain” follows with its descending
guitar riff and in the pocket crunch.
“Bent To Fly” is more elegant, shifting the gears with a kind of liquid
guitar elegance with sentiment that would make Mott The Hoople’s Ian Hunter
happy. The entire concert was actually
satellite cast (can’t say ‘broadcast’ anymore with cable, internet, the bird,
etc.) on Direct TV, and that’s a good thing. With such a glut of audio and
video blitzing the world these days, music this good can’t and shouldn’t get
lost in the shuffle. “World on Fire”
snarls like the “beautiful disaster” it defines, the four piece band and
vocalist rocking out with precision and determination. Touring with Aerosmith earlier in the year
(2014), Slash rocked out on “Mama Kin” and “Train Kept A Rollin” (with Johnny
Depp as well, in town filming Black Mass) on July 16, 2014 at the old Great
Woods in Mansfield, Massachusetts, and proved there, as he does on this disc, that
Slash is one of the great, last standing rock stars who still has an axe to
grind, and who is grinding it in unique and explosive ways.
Aerosmith mini review:
World on Fire
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators - World On Fire (Live At The Roxy)
World On Firehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFN9FQafITw
"Bent To Fly": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0ctImlIThY
Night Train
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvWiuBMp8Kg
"Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, Live At The Roxy" captures the band delivering a scintillating, dynamic performance that is brilliantly captured in this release. Order now on Digital Download:http://smarturl.it/SlashRoxyDigitalVid http://smarturl.it/SlashRoxyDigitalAud DVD:http://smarturl.it/SlashRoxyDVD Blur-ray: http://smarturl.it/SlashRoxyBluRay CD:http://smarturl.it/SlashRoxyCD Vinyl: http://smarturl.it/SlashRoxyVinyl
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DVD / BLU-RAY TRACK LISTING
1) Ghost
2) Nightrain
3) Back From Cali
4) You Could Be Mine
5) Rocket Queen
6) Bent To Fly
7) Starlight
8) You’re A Lie
9) World On Fire
10) Anastasia
11) Sweet Child O’ Mine
12) Slither
13) Paradise City
Bonus Tracks:
(1) Stone Blind
(2) You’re Crazy
(3) Wicked Stone
(4) 30 Years To Life
3LP / 2CD TRACK LISTING
1) Ghost
2) Nightrain
3) Halo
4) Back From Cali
5) Stone Blind
6) You Could Be Mine
7) Doctor Alibi
8) You’re Crazy
9) Wicked Stone
10) 30 Years To Life
11) Rocket Queen
12) Bent To Fly
13) Starlight
14) You’re A Lie
15) World On Fire
16) Anastasia
17) Sweet Child O’ Mine
18) Slither
19) Paradise City
New York, NY (April 15, 2015)—On June 16, Eagle Rock Entertainment will simultaneously release Live At The Roxy 9/25/14 by Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators on DVD, Blu-ray, 3LP, 2CD, and digital formats [Pre-book Order Date May 22, MSRP $19.98 Blu-ray, $14.98 DVD, $17.98 2CD, $34.98 3LP].
Shortly after the release of their World On Fire album (their second collaborative effort), guitarist extraordinaire Slash took the stage with Myles Kennedy (of Alter Bridge fame) & The Conspirators at the legendary Roxy Theatre on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. A staple of rock history that helped birth countless bands, including Guns ‘N’ Roses, the atmospheric venue gave fans a brilliant opportunity to see the band up close as they delivered a set packed with recent solo tracks, including several from the new album, and classics from Slash’s days with Guns ‘n’ Roses and Velvet Revolver: “Ghost,” “Back From Cali,” “World On Fire,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “Anastasia,” “Paradise City,” “Slither,” “Nightrain,” and many more. The intimate setting inspired the band to deliver a scintillating, dynamic performance that is brilliantly captured on Live At The Roxy 9/25/14.
Slash’s guitar prowess paired with the raw energy of Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators proves a truly potent live force and Live At The Roxy 9/25/14 sets the benchmark for high octane rock n roll shows!
Click here to view "Bent To Fly": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0ctImlIThY
Band line-up:
Slash – Guitar
Myles Kennedy – Vocals
Todd Kerns – Bass & Vocals
Brent Fitz – Drums
Frank Sidoris – Guitar & vocals
www.slashonline.comhttps://twitter.com/#!/slash
https://www.facebook.com/Slash
http://www.youtube.com/slash
https://www.facebook.com/Slash
http://www.youtube.com/slash
SLASH Press Releases & Photos:
http://www.msopr.com/n/client-roster/slash/
http://www.msopr.com/n/client-roster/slash/
About SLASH:
SLASH—the iconic American rock guitarist, songwriter and film producer--has amassed album sales of over 100 million copies, garnered a GRAMMY Award andseven GRAMMY nominations and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Time magazine recently named SLASH #2, behind Jimi Hendrix, on its “Ten Best Electric Guitar Players of All-Time” list. SLASH helped create signature sounds like the guitar riff on #1 hits for Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “Welcome To The Jungle.” After leaving the band, SLASH went on to critical acclaim with SLASH’s Snakepit and global success with the supergroup Velvet Revolver before embarking on his own solo career. SLASH’s self-titled biography (Slash, 2008) was critically well-received, climbed the bestseller list in both the U.S. and U.K. hitting #8 on the New York Times Bestsellers List. SPIN magazine called the book "Entertaining and educational...a crash course for aspiring rock gods." SLASH landed on the top of the charts again with his first solo album, Slash (2010) which featured Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie, Myles Kennedy and more. Shortly after, he then formed his current band: SLASH: Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators who have now been touring the world over and making music for four years. SLASH and his current band SLASH FeaturingMyles Kennedy and The Conspirators released the critically acclaimed Apocalyptic Love (2012) which stormed the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart debuting at #4 as the top rock album. Apocalyptic Love has the added distinction of spawning SLASH’sfirst-ever #1 rock radio solo hits: “You’re A Lie” and “Standing In The Sun.”SLASH released Nothing Left To Fear (2013) the first-ever motion picture he co-produced from Slasher Films, his film/TV production company specializing in the horror genre. He is currently working on a new film project. SLASH and his band, Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators unleashed their current album WORLD ON FIRE to worldwide praise garnering SLASH some of the best critical acclaim of his career from the media (press quotes here http://tinyurl.com/k52e5qz). SLASH’s third straight solo album to debut in the Top Ten, WORLD ON FIRE achieved over 12 Top Ten chart debuts around the world. The album’s title track and first single “World On Fire”ascended to #1 at U.S. Rock Radio. WORLD ON FIRE is SLASH’s third solo offering and second album with his official band The Conspirators which features MYLES KENNEDY (vocals), BRENT FITZ (drums) and TODD KERNS (bass). SLASH Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators will launch their headlining U.S. tour on April 25, 2015.
_______________________________________________________________________
#2 John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers –
Live in 1967 CD Coming April 21 from Forty Below Records
All Your Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgFIGZ4xspo
Previously Unreleased Live Recordings Feature John Mayall, Peter
Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood
LOS ANGELES, CA – Forty Below Records announces an April 21
release date for John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967 (Never Before Heard Live
Performances), a very special archival recording of one the best of the
Bluesbreakers band lineups, featuring legendary musicians John Mayall (vocals,
keyboards, harmonica), Peter Green (lead guitar), John McVie (bass) and Mick
Fleetwood (drums). Distributed by Sony/RED, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers –
Live in 1967 showcases a band that was together for only a scant three
months, yet created a lasting legacy, made an immense impact on music and led
to the formation of one of the most acclaimed groups of all-time when Green,
McVie and Fleetwood left to form Fleetwood Mac.
The genesis of Live
in 1967 came about because a staunch fan from Holland, Tom Huissen, was
able to sneak a one channel reel-to-reel tape recorder into five London clubs
(including the famed Marquee) in early 1967 and capture this exciting glimpse
into music history. For nearly 50 years these tapes remained unheard until
John Mayall acquired them recently and began restoring them with the technical
assistance of Eric Corne of Forty Below Records. “While the source recording
was very rough and the final result is certainly not hi-fidelity, it does
succeed in allowing us to hear how spectacular these performances are,” says
Corne.
“I'd
known for a decade or two of the existence of these tapes and in fact Tom
Huissen had sent me a CD with 50 second teasers for some of the tracks that he'd
secretly recorded at our London shows,” recalls Mayall. “Last year, Tom decided
he wanted the world to hear these performances and work soon began on restoring
the already fine quality on the old reel-to-reel tapes.”
John
Mayall has some fond memories about how this band came about. “Through most of
1966, Peter and John were both regular members of the Bluesbreakers and Aynsley
Dunbar was the drummer,” states Mayall. “However, even though Aynsley was a
great drummer, it was starting to become apparent that his jazz influenced
style of playing was veering away from the blues. As I recall, Peter had been
close friends with Mick Fleetwood for some time and he suggested I give him a
shot. And so for a short period of only about three months Mick became a Bluesbreaker.”
The band’s repertoire on the
tracks of Live in 1967 includes some songs that were originally recorded
on The Bluesbreakers first two albums, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
featuring Eric Clapton and A Hard Road (which featured Peter
Green), plus the soon-to-be recorded Crusade album, which featured young
guitarist Mick Taylor after Peter Green left the band. Other songs on the new
CD make their live debuts after having been recorded originally as singles in
the UK and would later appear on Mayall’s Looking Back album. In addition,
several of the songs on Live in 1967 make their first
appearance in any form on a Bluesbreakers album.
Two long-time mainstay
influences on John Mayall’s storied career – Freddy King and Otis Rush - are
well represented here with live versions of songs long-associated with the two
blues giants. “All Your Love,” “Double Trouble,” “So Many Roads” and “I Can’t
Quit You Baby” come from the Otis Rush canon of blues classics; and Freddy
King’s “The Stumble,” “San-Ho-Zay” and “Someday After Awhile,” are given
resounding treatments here by the quartet playing with a sense of energy and
urgency.
“Ever
since Eric Clapton joined the band, we both had a great interest in the
recorded work of Otis Rush and Freddy King and many of their classic songs
became part of our live performing catalogue,” Mayall says about the two blues
icons. “Their guitar work was always an inspiration for Eric, Peter Green and
Mick Taylor in those early years.”
The music
on John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967 showcases a band
that although only together for a short time, was incredibly tight and
in-the-pocket while still allowing room for improvisation, none more so than
Peter Green, whose guitar work on this CD will stand as some of his best-ever
on record. All of Green’s guitar trademarks - the stop time signatures, his
incredible sustain and a hair-raising powerful tone – are presented here in all
their glory, highlighting a musician who was more than able to assume the mantle
as the guitar player following in Eric Clapton’s well-trod footsteps as a
member of one of blues music’s all-time aggregations, John Mayall’s
Bluesbreakers.
John
Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – Live in 1967 Track Listing
1)
All Your Love
2)
Brand New Start
3)
Double Trouble
4)
Streamline
5)
Have You Ever Loved a Woman
6)
Looking Back
7)
So Many Roads
9)
I Can’t Quit You Baby
10) The Stumble
11) Someday After Awhile
12) San-Ho-Zay
13) Stormy Monday
___________________________________________________________________________
“Loving you is like Sherlock Holmes, a mystery every day…” sings vocalist Lance Doss, veteran of six years on tour with Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale, sounding more like he spent that time with J.J. Cale on this bluesy, powerful, definitive song about a mystery woman and the relationship’s inevitable conclusion. The fluid melody, a second cousin to “Goin’ Down” – Down, Down, Down, Down, bye, bye, bye, bye…good stuff. “Sadie” is a nice combo of 38 Special, Wet Willie, Mark Farner as well as a strong dash of Ian Hunter’s “Once Bitten Twice Shy.” These fellows know their influences and they wear them proudly on their sleeve here on their second disc, SGSB, the follow-up to the group’s debut, The MalL Tease Fall Can.
At 5:15 “Divine” takes the listener on a slow journey, musically elegant with a superb vocal reminiscent of Allman Brothers and Atlanta Rhythm section. Not to dwell on so many of the roots, but it is hard not to hearing so many familiar riffs tweaked in clever and inviting ways. “Get It Back” takes a different direction, both guitars churning soulful struts over the impeccable rhythms of bassist
Paul Page – also of John Cale’s band along with gigs for and with Dion, Popa Chubby, Ruth Gerson, Martin’s Folly Gary US Bonds, Bo Diddley, Del Shannon, Ben E. King and resilient drummer Steve Holley.
Where “Bama Bounce” pulls “Sunshine of Your Love” sideways, with a voice out of the clouds of reservations from this country’s native American past, “Some Things Ain’t Never Gonna Change” is a pure Hendrixian love fest. Go to the three minute mark and hear Jimi riffs and fills, with wah wah and delightful drumming by Steve Holley as a sweet undercurrent.
“Payin’ The Price” could be The Beatles “Drive My Car” gone blues while “My Pride” takes Aerosmith’s “Same Old Song and Dance” and brings it to the world of Savoy Brown and Foghat. Not that it is a stretch, Ralph Mormon of Savoy Brown was lead singer for Joe Perry of Aerosmith’s first solo album and this ensemble would be a perfect opener for “Smith any day of the week.
“Number” forges its own identity, multi instrumentalist / co-guitarist Justin Jordan bolstering the song’s framework with intriguing patterns. “One Good Kiss” and “Consumer,” which concludes this disc, speak with power and glory, it’s a blues buffet with touches of pop that has staying power and an encyclopedic understanding of the genres it traverses.
4)Jerry Burgan and the WE FIVE
5)THE WHO 1982 SHEA STADIUM
Eagle Rock Entertainment Is Proud To Release
THE WHO
LIVE AT SHEA STADIUM 1982
FIRST EVER RELEASE OF THE FULL SHOW, WITH RESTORED FOOTAGE AND NEWLY MIXED SOUND
~DVD, SD BLU-RAY, AND DIGITAL FORMATS~
~JUNE 30, 2015~
New York, NY (April 30, 2015)—This June, Eagle Rock Entertainment will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of The Who with the first ever DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital Video release of Live At Shea Stadium 1982
[MSRP $19.98 Blu-ray, $14.98 DVD]. This is the first official release
of the full show and features restored footage and newly mixed sound.
The Who (Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Kenney Jones)
delivered both classic tracks and rarely performed songs: “Pinball
Wizard,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “My Generation,” “Substitute,” “Who
Are You,” “I Can’t Explain,” “See Me Feel Me,” “Baba O’Riley,” and many
more. The tour promoted the 1982 album It’s Hard and the set list was comprised of several tracks from that album, some of which the band would only play live on this tour.
The Who’s
1982 North American tour was their last to feature Kenney Jones on
drums and the band did not tour again until 1989. This concert film
features the show from the second of their two nights at New York’s Shea
Stadium and was filmed on October 13th 1982.
2015 is a year of even higher profile than usual for this legendary band - with their 50th Anniversary European/North American tour taking place this summer. Live At Shea Stadium 1982 shows exactly what their reputation has been built on.
Click below for view “Love Reign O’er Me”:
Eagle Rock Entertainment is the largest producer and distributor of music programming for DVD, Blu-Ray, TV and Digital Media in the world. Eagle
works directly alongside talent to produce top quality, High Definition
programs, both concerts and documentaries, including The Rolling
Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, Queen, The Doors, Jeff Beck, Peter Gabriel,
Paul McCartney, Ozzy Osbourne, Genesis, Alice Cooper, Eric Clapton and
Aerosmith. Eagle is a Grammy Award winning company and has
received over 40 multi-platinum, over 80 platinum and over 144 gold
discs, worldwide. Eagle Rock Entertainment has offices in London, New
York, Paris and Hamburg.
Follow Eagle Rock Entertainment at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EagleRockEnt
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For more information regarding this and other Eagle Rock Entertainment releases, contact Carol Kaye at Carol@Kayosproductions.com. Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/KayosProductionsInc.
TRACK LISTING
1) Substitute
2) I Can’t Explain
3) Dangerous
4) Sister Disco
5) The Quiet One
6) It’s Hard
7) Eminence Front
8) Behind Blue Eyes
9) Baba O’Riley
10) I’m One
11) The Punk And The Godfather
12) Drowned
13) Tattoo
14) Cry If You Want
15) Who Are You
16) Pinball Wizard
17) See Me Feel Me
18) Love Reign O’er Me
19) Long Live Rock
20) Won’t Get Fooled Again
21) Young Man Blues
22) Naked Eye
23) I Saw Her Standing There
24) Summertime Blues
25) Twist And Shout
6)Jimi Hendrix Starting at Zero
Bloomberg’s 2013 release of Starting at Zero – His Own Story, is a unique, “posthumous autobiography” written, ostensibly, by Jimi Hendrix and compiled by filmmaker Peter Neal and record producer Alan Douglas. It is an inspiring textbook for deep Hendrix connoisseurs who appreciate the guitar legend and seek further insight into the workings of his incredible mind.
For those of us immersed in the music of that era – Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Doors, the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Cream, etc, especially the disciples focused mostly on Jimi, this is a scholarly, important document isolating Jimi’s thoughts with both the composer’s song lyrics as well as Hendrix’s own diary entries, correspondences, notes and other such written (or tape recorded) artifacts.
My first go at reading this 256 page collection was not easy, the richness of the book demanding a period of time for thoughtful exploration beyond a mere perusal, as different material is juxtaposed alongside other fragments, certainly a daunting task and actually quite an accomplishment.
Alan Douglas’s controversial re-production of unfinished works, or post-production or, in some cases – rearrangement, is important on one level, and on that level I am one of Douglas’s champions. Quite clearly – on another level – I am one of the harshest critics of some of the late producer’s work.
Starting at Zero is a masterful achievement for both Douglas and Neal, it fills in the blanks for anyone playing Sherlock Holmes with Hendrix’s beautiful and mysterious legacy, for anyone missing the fact that “the man’s mind was just on so many different levels, it’s amazing” Eddie Kramer states in the film Night Bird Flying (Behind the scenes) - see video http://tinyurl.com/nightbirdflyingdoc
The book brings you closer to Hendrix with staples like “Room Full of Mirrors” and “Voodoo Chile” taking on even more meaning as you read the words to the songs - and the complementary scribblings from the author. The additional information gives the music we’ve known and listened to decade after decade deeper meaning, giving the Jimi’s compositions more impact as well. The editors/co-authors align the subject matter in a planetary sort of fashion, all circling the sun – the memoir portions and other elements moving with their own identifiable gravity.
Post script: co-author/co-editor Peter Neal, according to the book’s official webpage “made the first-ever film about Jimi Hendrix, called Experience. Also known as Hear My Music Talking, it was the only one released during Jimi’s lifetime”
7)Man From U.N.C.L.E
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2015/67625/movie-review-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e
_____________________________________
36)Garret Scott
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsTVoknb4s4
37)Led Zeppelin BLUEBERRY HILL
Jimmy Page plays Fats Domino
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J54NapjjbZY
_________________________________________
·
Starting At Zero – His Own Story
Jimi Hendrix
As compiled by Alan Douglas and Peter Neal
Hardcover: 256 pages
Jimi Hendrix
As compiled by Alan Douglas and Peter Neal
Hardcover: 256 pages
·
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA; 1ST edition (November 5, 2013)
·
Language: English
·
ISBN-10: 1620403315
ISBN-13: 978-1620403310
Bloomberg’s 2013 release of Starting at Zero – His Own Story, is a unique, “posthumous autobiography” written, ostensibly, by Jimi Hendrix and compiled by filmmaker Peter Neal and record producer Alan Douglas. It is an inspiring textbook for deep Hendrix connoisseurs who appreciate the guitar legend and seek further insight into the workings of his incredible mind.
For those of us immersed in the music of that era – Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Doors, the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Cream, etc, especially the disciples focused mostly on Jimi, this is a scholarly, important document isolating Jimi’s thoughts with both the composer’s song lyrics as well as Hendrix’s own diary entries, correspondences, notes and other such written (or tape recorded) artifacts.
My first go at reading this 256 page collection was not easy, the richness of the book demanding a period of time for thoughtful exploration beyond a mere perusal, as different material is juxtaposed alongside other fragments, certainly a daunting task and actually quite an accomplishment.
Alan Douglas’s controversial re-production of unfinished works, or post-production or, in some cases – rearrangement, is important on one level, and on that level I am one of Douglas’s champions. Quite clearly – on another level – I am one of the harshest critics of some of the late producer’s work.
Starting at Zero is a masterful achievement for both Douglas and Neal, it fills in the blanks for anyone playing Sherlock Holmes with Hendrix’s beautiful and mysterious legacy, for anyone missing the fact that “the man’s mind was just on so many different levels, it’s amazing” Eddie Kramer states in the film Night Bird Flying (Behind the scenes) - see video http://tinyurl.com/nightbirdflyingdoc
The book brings you closer to Hendrix with staples like “Room Full of Mirrors” and “Voodoo Chile” taking on even more meaning as you read the words to the songs - and the complementary scribblings from the author. The additional information gives the music we’ve known and listened to decade after decade deeper meaning, giving the Jimi’s compositions more impact as well. The editors/co-authors align the subject matter in a planetary sort of fashion, all circling the sun – the memoir portions and other elements moving with their own identifiable gravity.
Originally entitled Room Full Of Mirrors, according to Page IV, and
released in November of 2013, the book “was produced without the input,
assistance, or authorization of Al Hendrix, Janie Hendrix, Experience Hendrix,
L.L.C., or any parties associated therewith.”
The nine chapters are titled after songs (and some that became album
titles,) ending with “Nine to the Universe,” of course, and holding twenty to
thirty-five pages per chapter.
It
is a scholarly effort which differs greatly from other
post-their-time-on-planet-earth volumes such as Laura Joplin’s “Love Janis,”
“Wilderness: The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison, Vol. 1,” The American Night:
The Writings of Jim Morrison, Vol. 2” and similar archives and records prepared
for publication after the protagonist has left this mortal coil. “Starting at Zero” is a book that moves into
the upper region of my Top 4 categories for the plethora of Hendrix writings on
the market, be they in the form of books, magazine articles, liner notes,
tributes and other etchings found multiplying on the internet.
Post script: co-author/co-editor Peter Neal, according to the book’s official webpage “made the first-ever film about Jimi Hendrix, called Experience. Also known as Hear My Music Talking, it was the only one released during Jimi’s lifetime”
7)Man From U.N.C.L.E
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2015/67625/movie-review-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e
On a seventy-five million dollar budget director Guy Ritchie has done a splendid job of recreating the 1964-1968 TV series that spawned 105 episodes. IMDB describes the Robert Vaughn/David McCallum ‘60s show efficiently with this description: “The two top agents of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement fight the enemies of peace, particularly the forces of THRUSH.” THRUSH, of course, being the mirror image of James Bond’s enemy, S.P.E.C.T.R.E, or the Avengers / Captain America’s long-time foe HYDRA.
Essentially, this “reboot” of the television series on the silver screen presents two James Bonds for the price of one with the perfect casting of Superman Henry Cavill as Napoleon Solo and Armie Hammer as Illya Kuryakin. IMDB describes the new outing in this fashion: “In the early 1960s, CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons.”
Director/co-screenwriter Ritchie smartly places the time period as 1963 bringing the last remnants of the Nazi regime to a more “modern world” seeking a nuclear weapon. Is it a metaphor for smaller countries in the new millennium seeking weapons of mass destruction? Possibly. Or maybe it’s just a film taking some Captain America and lots and lots of James Bond and certainly looking for the Mission Impossible market and, somehow, though entertaining this critic, not bringing in the box office a month after its release.
A pity because Cavill fits into the Napoleon Solo perhaps better than the shoes of Clark Kent. Hammer is a “new look” Kuryakin and the chemistry between the two works, not only in the film, but in the interview sessions proliferating on YouTube. Hugh Grant is not Leo G. Carrol, but he’s fine as Waverly. The “Bond girls” here work just as well as Grant, Cavill, Hammer and the elegant décor. Elizabeth Debicki as the villainess and Alicia Vikander as Gaby – fluctuating between the double-spy in Mission Impossible Rogue Nation and a third partner a la The Mod Squad.
As with the ‘6os when James Bond imitations proliferated, this Man From U.N.C.L.E. is looking for part of the Mission Impossible pie. Hopefully they’ll get to do a sequel as this critic found it to be more fun and less formatted than the genre – many times – cares to offer.
Joe Viglione is the Chief Film Critic at TMRZoo.com. He has written thousands of reviews and biographies for AllMovie.com, Allmusic.com, Gatehouse Media, Al Aronowitz’s The Blacklisted Journal, and a variety of other media outlets. Joe also produces and hosts Visual Radio, a seventeen year old variety show on cable TV which has interviewed Jodie Foster, director/screenwriter David Koepp, Michael Moore, John Cena, comics/actors Margaret Cho, Gilbert Gottfried, Gallagher, musicians Mark Farner and Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad, Ian Hunter of Mott The Hoople, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals, political commentator Bill Press and hundreds of other personalities.
_____________________________________
36)Garret Scott
Garrett Scott on Mercury - I'm gonna give you All My Love"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsTVoknb4s4
37)Led Zeppelin BLUEBERRY HILL
Jimmy Page plays Fats Domino
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J54NapjjbZY
_________________________________________
#38 Fantastic Four
For Dr.
Franklin Storm, the alleged father of Johnny Storm and stepfather of Sue Storm
(talk about a doppelganger series) fine character actor Reg E. Cathey – who had
the distinction of being Warden Martin Querns in 1997’s prison TV series Oz,
Barry Querns/Victor Tybor in Law and Order: Special Victim’s Unit, The Baron in
the tv series Grimm (no relation to The Thing, Ben Grimm) – and even a voice in
a Star Wars game, the tradition continues. From George Gaynes in the Corman
1994 film to Cathey in the 2015 FF flick, these veteran actors bring a touch of
class to that which is, otherwise, the most poorly produced set of films of an
iconic set of characters – quite possibly – in the history of film.
Now it isn’t hard to get it right. In
Fantastic Four #56 after the battle with the “master of sound,” KLAW, Dr. Doom
in Latveria is watching the herald of Galactus in a most dramatic scene:
“Meanwhile, over in Europe, the Silver Surfer lands atop a mountain. A
mysterious man watches from a castle, then starts making plans involving the
Surfer...” http://www.comicvine.com/fantastic-four-56-klaw-the-murderous-master-of-sou/4000-8943/
Instead we get two very poor performances from Mile Teller, probably 27 years of age when he filmed this …and looking like he’s 17, Much better as Peter Hayes in the Divergent series, he has not the depth nor the look of obsessive/compulsive scientist Dr. Reed Richards. Michael B. Jordan, who appeared with Teller in the film That Awkward Moment, is beyond awkward here, the two actors are miscast and just terrible and drag the film down so hard that it can’t be retrieved.
Kate Mara was good in her first film, Random Hearts, and traveled through opposite worlds such as Brokeback Mountain and Transcendence. Here she is decent as Susan Storm, not outstanding, but certainly better than the comedy crew of Jordan and Teller. Poor Jaimie Bell, from 2005’s King Kong and terrific in 2011’s The Eagle – which could have been more of a gay classic than Brokeback Mountain had director Kevin MacDonald gotten away from the blood and gore Channing Tatum’s Marcus and Jaime Bell’s Esca despised each other because of the war that went on before both they were both born. At the end of the film it is obvious they have become a homosexual couple in the year 140 AD. Check out the alternate ending on the DVD “Marcus and Esca are then shown approaching Hadrian's Wall on foot and talking about their plans for the future.” Right.
Here Bell could have used Channing Tatum, Bell as Johnny Storm, Tatum as The Thing, Ben Grimm. It would have been a brilliant casting, but, you see, there appears to be an ulterior motive to 20th Century Fox dropping the ball.
Things are so skewed between Marvel Comics/Disney and 20th Century Fox that – purportedly – the comic book series was cancelled in April 2015 with FF #645 for multiple reasons, this being one of them: “That, as a result of Disney’s highest single shareholder and Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter’s anger with Fox Studios over negotiations regarding the film-and-related rights to The Fantastic Four, that Marvel would cancel the Fantastic Four comic rather than provide any promotion, however small it might be, towards the Fox Studios film”
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/10/05/confirmed-fantastic-four-to-be-cancelled-in-2015-with-a-triple-sized-issue-645-as-january-kicks-off-fantastic-fourever/
There was also the matter of slumping sales, due in no small part to the mishandling of the movies. This appears to be a high stakes game of “chicken” with the film company willing to take a bath by creating this terrible new film in order to stick it back at Marvel…and probably hope Marvel pays them off to get the rights to the film and all its characters back.
The End of the Fantastic Four?
Of course heroes always get resurrected, but look at the hype on Comicbook.com:
This is the end of the Fantastic Four – 4ever! Be there when the most controversial Fantastic Four story concludes in the extra-sized FANTASTIC FOUR #645! http://comicbook.com/2015/04/03/fantastic-four-645-first-look-the-end-is-fourever/
My take as a film critic and long-time fan of the FF starting with the comic book when it was numbering in the 30s (it went up to 645! – as noted above) – nothing this bad could be made in today’s climate without it being some kind of negotiation tactic. The script is awful, the directing pedestrian, some of the acting banal bordering on inept, but some excellent special effects.
The critics at the screening in Boston were bashing the film loudly, sales reflect a unanimous opinion that this is a bigger turkey than the previous three Fantastic Four outings, from 1994 to earlier in the 2000’s.
Could the film have been saved? Of course it could have, somewhat. With marketing geniuses and plenty of great editors walking the planet this was intentional self-sabotage, part of a ploy to see how much bang 20th Century can get for the rights it holds to the Greatest Comic Magazine in the World.
“Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS)-owned Marvel Studios has clawed back the film rights to a handful of heroes in recent years. After a spectacular flop at the box office last weekend, speculation is rampant that the Fantastic Four could return to its Marvel roots.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/going-home-marvel-salvage-fantastic-130000382.html
Duh! Ya think?
http://medfordjoeviglionefilmreviews.blogspot.com/2015_05_01_archive.html
Fantastic Four
By Joe Viglione
21 years before this debacle by 20th Century Fox,
and we’ll get to the psychology behind the 2015 terrible adaption of “the
Greatest Comic Magazine in the World” – Roger Corman put together a very decent
casting and better paced quickie featuring Joseph Culp (son of I Spy’s Robert
Culp) as Dr. Doom, Police Academy’s Commandant Eric Lassard (George Gaynes as
the professor, Alex Hyde-White as Reed Richards, Jay Underwood as Johnny Storm
(eventually to play on Star Trek Voyager the character Mortimer Harren) – just
a taste of what could have been had Cormon gathered a budget together and taken
the film seriously. It remains a cult
novelty a la the Captain America and Hulk made for TV movies.
1994’s The Fantastic Four has pretty much the same title as
2005’s dreary Fantastic Four and now the seemingly intentional implosion that
is 2015’s Fantastic Four. At least all
three expeditions got the name right.
For Dr.
Franklin Storm, the alleged father of Johnny Storm and stepfather of Sue Storm
(talk about a doppelganger series) fine character actor Reg E. Cathey – who had
the distinction of being Warden Martin Querns in 1997’s prison TV series Oz,
Barry Querns/Victor Tybor in Law and Order: Special Victim’s Unit, The Baron in
the tv series Grimm (no relation to The Thing, Ben Grimm) – and even a voice in
a Star Wars game, the tradition continues. From George Gaynes in the Corman
1994 film to Cathey in the 2015 FF flick, these veteran actors bring a touch of
class to that which is, otherwise, the most poorly produced set of films of an
iconic set of characters – quite possibly – in the history of film.
Now it isn’t hard to get it right. In
Fantastic Four #56 after the battle with the “master of sound,” KLAW, Dr. Doom
in Latveria is watching the herald of Galactus in a most dramatic scene:
“Meanwhile, over in Europe, the Silver Surfer lands atop a mountain. A
mysterious man watches from a castle, then starts making plans involving the
Surfer...” http://www.comicvine.com/fantastic-four-56-klaw-the-murderous-master-of-sou/4000-8943/Instead we get two very poor performances from Mile Teller, probably 27 years of age when he filmed this …and looking like he’s 17, Much better as Peter Hayes in the Divergent series, he has not the depth nor the look of obsessive/compulsive scientist Dr. Reed Richards. Michael B. Jordan, who appeared with Teller in the film That Awkward Moment, is beyond awkward here, the two actors are miscast and just terrible and drag the film down so hard that it can’t be retrieved.
Kate Mara was good in her first film, Random Hearts, and traveled through opposite worlds such as Brokeback Mountain and Transcendence. Here she is decent as Susan Storm, not outstanding, but certainly better than the comedy crew of Jordan and Teller. Poor Jaimie Bell, from 2005’s King Kong and terrific in 2011’s The Eagle – which could have been more of a gay classic than Brokeback Mountain had director Kevin MacDonald gotten away from the blood and gore Channing Tatum’s Marcus and Jaime Bell’s Esca despised each other because of the war that went on before both they were both born. At the end of the film it is obvious they have become a homosexual couple in the year 140 AD. Check out the alternate ending on the DVD “Marcus and Esca are then shown approaching Hadrian's Wall on foot and talking about their plans for the future.” Right.
Here Bell could have used Channing Tatum, Bell as Johnny Storm, Tatum as The Thing, Ben Grimm. It would have been a brilliant casting, but, you see, there appears to be an ulterior motive to 20th Century Fox dropping the ball.
Things are so skewed between Marvel Comics/Disney and 20th Century Fox that – purportedly – the comic book series was cancelled in April 2015 with FF #645 for multiple reasons, this being one of them: “That, as a result of Disney’s highest single shareholder and Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter’s anger with Fox Studios over negotiations regarding the film-and-related rights to The Fantastic Four, that Marvel would cancel the Fantastic Four comic rather than provide any promotion, however small it might be, towards the Fox Studios film”
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/10/05/confirmed-fantastic-four-to-be-cancelled-in-2015-with-a-triple-sized-issue-645-as-january-kicks-off-fantastic-fourever/
There was also the matter of slumping sales, due in no small part to the mishandling of the movies. This appears to be a high stakes game of “chicken” with the film company willing to take a bath by creating this terrible new film in order to stick it back at Marvel…and probably hope Marvel pays them off to get the rights to the film and all its characters back.
The End of the Fantastic Four?
Of course heroes always get resurrected, but look at the hype on Comicbook.com:
This is the end of the Fantastic Four – 4ever! Be there when the most controversial Fantastic Four story concludes in the extra-sized FANTASTIC FOUR #645! http://comicbook.com/2015/04/03/fantastic-four-645-first-look-the-end-is-fourever/
My take as a film critic and long-time fan of the FF starting with the comic book when it was numbering in the 30s (it went up to 645! – as noted above) – nothing this bad could be made in today’s climate without it being some kind of negotiation tactic. The script is awful, the directing pedestrian, some of the acting banal bordering on inept, but some excellent special effects.
The critics at the screening in Boston were bashing the film loudly, sales reflect a unanimous opinion that this is a bigger turkey than the previous three Fantastic Four outings, from 1994 to earlier in the 2000’s.
Could the film have been saved? Of course it could have, somewhat. With marketing geniuses and plenty of great editors walking the planet this was intentional self-sabotage, part of a ploy to see how much bang 20th Century can get for the rights it holds to the Greatest Comic Magazine in the World.
“Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS)-owned Marvel Studios has clawed back the film rights to a handful of heroes in recent years. After a spectacular flop at the box office last weekend, speculation is rampant that the Fantastic Four could return to its Marvel roots.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/going-home-marvel-salvage-fantastic-130000382.html
Duh! Ya think?
#39 Aerosmith July 16, 2014
http://rockjournalistjoevig.blogspot.com/2014_07_01_archive.html
________________________
#40 GHOST Slash
Kill the ghost that hides in your soul!
Kill the ghost that hides in your soul!
with Ian Asbury
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_(album)
With Myles Kennedy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTNA1Z35ngo
